North Somerset Wellbeing is teaming up with Beyond Equality to host three workshops focused on men’s wellbeing. The workshops are free and open to all men and anyone who identifies as male, who are 18+ and live in North Somerset.  These workshops will provide a safe space to have genuine chats about wellbeing, connect with other men and pick up tips to support your own wellbeing. We’ll focus particularly on male experiences of wellbeing and mental health, masculinities and the impact on how men and male-identifying people access support.   The workshops will take place on Thursd ..read more

When Phil met Anthony through our volunteering mentor scheme, Get Connected, they discovered a shared love of bikes and developed a connection that empowered Anthony to move forward in life. Why did you choose to volunteer with Second Step? I’m in my 50s and have enjoyed a great career working as a management consultant in healthcare in the UK and internationally. I’m not clinical but recognise the critical challenges and needs in the NHS, mental health being one of them. So, I’m halfway through an Open University Degree in Psychology with a view to morphing my career into counselling. Second ..read more

Recovery Navigator Phoebe Horrocks recently started volunteering as LGBTQIA+ lead for Second Step’s Community Rehabilitation service in Bristol. In this role, she proudly supports and advocates for our LGBTQIA+ clients and team members, as well as keeping an eye out for any exciting opportunities, training courses, and events for the community. Phoebe also acts as a point of contact for colleagues for any queries or LGBTQIA+ related questions. Here she shares some guidance on how to be an ally to LGBTQIA+ colleagues. Stonewall has reported that over a third of LGBTQIA+ people feel they need to ..read more

To coincide with Carers’ Week, our Bristol Community Rehabilitation team and Bristol Wellbeing College organised an event for carers on 10 June at our Pennywell Road office. The event was open to all carers to drop in, enjoy a cuppa and a pastry, and find out about the support services and resources available to help them maintain their mental health. Ben from our Bristol Wellbeing College was also present to share information about the College’s wellbeing workshops and courses which are free to all adults in Bristol. Suzanne from our Community Rehabilitation team who organised the event said ..read more

In the last year, more than three thousand people have reached out for support from Crisis Safe Space, the out of hours mental health service in Somerset. Out of the 3118 attending Crisis Safe Space appointments, just under 45% of clients were seen in person and nearly 44% were supported on the phone. 11% chose to have an online video call. Nearly one third of clients, 999 people, were using the service for the first time, according to figures from April 2023 to end of March 2024. There were a number of reasons for people using the service – which covers the whole of Somerset – the most common ..read more

When Charlie started mental health volunteering, his goal was to help people and make a difference. What he didn’t realise was how much volunteering would make a difference to his life too.  For Volunteers’ Week, Charlie shares why he started volunteering with Second Step and how we supported him to transition into a full-time  paid mental health support role with our Help When You Need It team in Bristol.  “I became a volunteer during the lockdown. I’d just finished university. Obviously, we couldn’t leave our houses. I couldn’t get a job. So, I was working with a service set ..read more

It’s well known that horses can help our mental health, with a study by the British Horse Society revealing that horse riding stimulated many positive psychological feelings including reducing depression by 30%. But for one young woman, who has spent the last 10 years in mental health units often under a section, horse riding became so much more than this. It helped her build her confidence and slowly but surely find the strength to return to life in the community. A challenging decade Shelby’s had a challenging few years. Having been admitted to a mental health unit when she was 16, she’s liv ..read more

North Somerset Wellbeing is introducing a free, six-week course for carers (18 years and over) who provide support to adults living in North Somerset.  The Wellbeing for Carers: Looking After Yourself course will support carers in understanding their own mental health needs and those of the person they care for. Over six weeks, you’ll explore topics such as coping skills and emotional resilience, as well as having a safe and confidential space to share your experiences and meet other carers.  The course starts on Thursday 6 June, 10:30am to 1pm at:  The Motex Centre  Winter ..read more

Following the death by suicide of his beloved wife Carole, South Gloucestershire farmer Stephen Moorlen decided to set up a mental health fundraising project in her memory. We spoke to Stephen about the project, and the overwhelming response he has had since launching it.  Originally wanting to call his fundraising project Mom – the name his grandson used for Carole – and also the initials of his mantra, mind over matter – in the end Stephen chose ‘Moments’ because, as he says:   “When we talk, we always talk about taking a moment and people do need to take a moment, it’s a fit ..read more

To coincide with this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week theme of movement, we sat down with Recovery Navigator Ellen and Bristol Wellbeing College tutor Tom to ask them about the value of movement for mental health.   Watch the video below, or read on for the transcript. What would you say to someone struggling to find the time and motivation for movement?  Tom: I think the first thing is to recognise that we all have limitations. Realigning the expectations that we might have around what is worth doing and what we can do is really, really important.   Sometimes the ..read more